Chapter 79

"I bought this necklace myself," I replied.

Since Clair and I were keeping our relationship private, I chose to hide the truth.

I remembered Clair saying the necklace wasn't expensive, just over a hundred thousand.

For Charlotte, that amount of money shouldn't be a big deal. Why did she care so much?

Of course, I had no way of knowing that this rose pendant necklace was exactly what Charlotte had wanted to receive as a gift last night.

Hearing that I bought the necklace myself, Charlotte's expression softened slightly. She said dismissively, "It's not even a limited edition. I wouldn't want it anyway."

But even as she said this, the next second she ordered me to take off the necklace. "Don't ever let me see you wearing this necklace again!"

Charlotte believed that if she didn't have something, her inferior employees shouldn't be allowed to have it either.

I thought it was ridiculous, but as a lowly employee, I didn't dare resist. I quietly took off the necklace and put it in my coat pocket.

Only then was Charlotte satisfied. She twisted her waist and walked toward the office.

As Charlotte left, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

My colleague Lily asked quietly, "Susan, did you offend Charlotte somehow? Why else wouldn't she let you wear the necklace?"

I had indeed offended Charlotte, but she didn't seem to recognize me.

As for why she wouldn't let me wear the necklace, I had no clue. I shrugged and said, "It's fine. I just have to put up with it, right?"

Lily nodded. "But honestly, your necklace is really pretty. How much was it?"

"Very cheap," I said with a smile, waving my hand and quickly changing the subject to work.

I didn't dare tell the truth.

Even though the rose necklace only cost over a hundred thousand, given my current salary, it was still beyond my means. I didn't want to draw attention or have people speculate about where the necklace came from.

During lunch break, I unexpectedly ran into Emily in the company cafeteria.

It had been a while since I last saw Emily starting her job at Blue Sky Corporation, but this was the first time I'd seen her in the company cafeteria.

When Emily saw me, she walked over.

"Susan, let me sit with you."

"Emily, are you okay?" I could tell at a glance that Emily hadn't been doing well lately. She looked noticeably haggard and had lost a lot of weight.

Emily smiled and said, "I'm fine, just a bit busy since I'm new at the company."

She asked, "By the way, I heard Charlotte came to work at the company, in your planning department?"

I nodded while eating. "Yeah. You said you have a friend at Blue Sky Corporation, too. Which department is she in?"

"She used to be in the purchasing department, but she's not working here anymore," Emily's smile. "Without her, at least I have you now."

Just then, Emily received a phone call. I don't know what the person on the other end said, but Emily suddenly stood up and ran outside without a care.

I wanted to chase after her, but Emily ran too fast and disappeared in an instant.

I couldn't help but worry.

She seemed to be rushing to meet someone important.

After lunch, I went back to the planning department to continue working.

Around three in the afternoon, I brought the proposal I'd written to Charlotte for her signature. She was now the department manager, so it needed her review and signature.

I knocked on the door and respectfully placed the proposal in front of Charlotte.

"Miss Charlotte, this is the proposal for the West River Project. Please review it. Ms. Sandy's side is pushing to have it verified before the end of the day."

Because of Charlotte, the originally simple office had been redecorated. There were stuffed animals everywhere, and the desk was filled with fancy pastries, fruit, and coffee.

Charlotte didn't look up. She was looking at the latest season's gowns on her tablet while on the phone with a friend, discussing where to have a party and where to go shopping and dining.

I had to speak up again.

"Miss Charlotte, this proposal..."

"Are you annoying or what? I heard you, get out!" Charlotte shouted angrily.

So I turned and left.

But I never expected that as soon as I walked out, Charlotte threw the proposal I'd worked so hard on for days into the trash. Her face was mocking. "What garbage. How dare she wear the necklace I wanted?"

I returned to my desk, feeling uneasy.

Sure enough, I waited until almost the end of the workday without hearing back from Charlotte. Ms. Sandy's assistant came over. "Susan, where's the West River Project proposal? Isn't it done yet? Ms. Sandy is waiting!"

"I gave the proposal to Miss Charlotte around three this afternoon. Let me go ask her." I hurried over to Charlotte's office, afraid she might have left early.

Fortunately, Charlotte was still in her office, but she was packing up, getting ready to leave.

I caught my breath. "Miss Charlotte, did you look at the West River Project proposal I submitted to you?"

"What proposal? I didn't see it." Charlotte casually pushed aside a stack of documents—all sent over by Sandy, who had told Charlotte to study them carefully, but she'd gotten so sleepy reading them that she just stopped.

I patiently reminded her, "Around 3:30 this afternoon, I brought you the proposal. Red folder, placed on your left side."

Charlotte's face turned cold. She grabbed her bag and left. "I said I didn't see it, so I didn't see it. Don't make me late."

As she brushed past me, Charlotte's lips curved into a satisfied smile.

For Charlotte, only tormenting me made this day not boring.

Watching Charlotte's retreating figure, I clenched my fists in anger, realizing that Charlotte was deliberately targeting me, probably because of the necklace I'd worn.

It was just an ordinary necklace. It's not like she couldn't afford it.

I hurried to make another copy of the proposal to send to Ms. Sandy.

Luckily, I had a habit of saving every proposal on my computer, so I could just copy it now.

Before the end of the workday, I delivered the proposal to Sandy's desk. Only then did I dare breathe a sigh of relief, wiping the sweat from my forehead. That was a close call.

Because of this little incident, I got out of work a bit late.

On the subway, I thought of Emily leaving in such a hurry at lunch, and couldn't help pulling out my phone to send her a message: [Emily, are you okay?]

I waited a long time, but never got a reply from Emily.

Since my relationship with Emily wasn't that close and I didn't really know her well, I didn't dwell on it. After getting off at my stop, I quickly forgot about it.

The house was empty. Clair wasn't home yet.

My heart felt vaguely anxious.